We recently had Mandi, the writer for Trainer Momma come to one of our classes. She is a certified personal trainer and blogs daily about fitness and nutrition. We were so excited to see her in class and even more excited after we heard what she had to say…

A friend of mine, Melissa, is a runner. Big time. She just had her third baby about a year ago and I’ve wondered how she’s kept up her running with the baby.

Then I saw the t-shirt: cute, pink and it said “Stroller Strides” across the front. Hhmm, I’ve heard of that. My inquiring mind wanted to know and I discovered that she is a group instructor for Stroller Strides in San Antonio. Well, you know me, I immediately invited myself to go to a class.

The group met at the mall, due to the pouring rain. The group agreed that they liked the park locations better, but I couldn’t help think how fantastic it was that is was dumping buckets outside and these moms still had a place to workout and 10 friends to do it with.

Now let me just say I saw some awesome strollers. I’m talking some Cadillacs. My umbrella stroller would be in the category of a used El Camino, however, it worked just fine after I cleaned all the cobwebs off of it and threw away the year-old, smashed up boxes of raisins in the net underneath.

My little guy hasn’t been buckled up in a stroller in recent memory, so I’m sure how he felt about it.

We started with a warm up and stretch while all the little guys just stared at each other and started gnawing on their baggie of snacks.

Then we took off.

Some moms power walked, other moms jogged. Everyone worked at their own level.

Past the stores. Man, it’s been eons since I’ve been in an actual mall.

Good thing I left my wallet in the car, otherwise I would have been tempted to make a few stops.

When we stopped, we lined up the strollers and went through the drills that Melissa had prepared for us. Squats. Lunges. Jump tucks. Good stuff! Right up my alley.

We walked/jogged quickly to the next stop. We all were provided resistance bands and did bicep curls, shoulder press, and rows. We did ab work, push ups, step ups.

I was so impressed with the creativity and variety and depth of the workout. Melissa kept the group moving and grooving going from one stop to the next, and giving us a full body workout.

My favorite, needless to say, were the stairs. Brilliant! Half of the group did some band work while the rest of us ran stairs for several minutes. All the while, the instructor Melissa was the entertainment for the kids while their moms were getting their heart rates up.

The social aspect of this experience cannot be understated — there was chatting about the kids and families the entire time. These gals had become workout partners and friends. One mom had a 3-month- old and was so glad to finally be out of the house around other moms (whoa – have I felt that a time or two or what?). I talked to one mom who didn’t like the child care setting at her gym for her 13-month-old daughter, so she thought she’s spend her money here instead. It turns out, she is much more consistent with this program than any other because she knows the other gals are expecting her to show up.

Yes, Stroller Strides and other similiar programs do have a monthly or per class fee. They also arrange regular playgroups for the kids and Mom’s Night Out. Talk about a support group! I had no idea.

Join Stroller Strides of North San Antonio this Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the Alamodome for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure. Race time is 8 a.m.

Online Registration is now Closed! But, you may still sign up for the Race for the Cure at the site registration/packet pick up Tuesday, April 27th through Thursday, April 29th at Alamo Quarry Market from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We will be located next to Chico’s, look for the big pink balloons. Friday, April 30th at Alamodome in Lot C from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Race Day, Saturday, May 1st at Alamodome in Lot C from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Doors open to the gym at 8:30 am and shopping continues until 1:00. Some items will be offered at half-price beginning at 11:30. In order to be eligible to purchase items at half price, you must enter the sale after 11:00. Cash and personal checks will be accepted (with valid ID).

Concordia Lutheran Church is located at 16801 Huebner Road (at Loop 1604…look for the huge cross!) For more information, please contact mops_efcs@yahoo.com.

Please feel free to forward this on to your friends, neighbors, relatives, teachers…anyone who might be interested!

Yesterday I saw a blog posted on Twitter by Lisa Druxman the founder of Stroller Strides. It was titled, miscarriage…please talk about it. After reading her blog I was inspired to share my story…On September 19th, 2007, my daughter Amelia was born still at 33wks. This was devistating of course but many of the emotions I felt were not what one would expect. I felt a tremendous amount of shame, guilt, and embarrasment. Later I learned these were common feelings among women suffering from pregnancy loss. They never found a cause for my little Amelia’s death, I know I did nothing wrong. However, those initial emotions of shame and guilt still keep me from sharing my experiences. I hope that speaking out today will encourage women to talk about how they are feeling, share your thoughts and experiences. You are not alone!!

Macaroni Kid of Stone Oak and North Central San Antonio

Macaroni Kid and its family of Publisher Moms are dedicated to delivering the scoop on all the family-friendly events and activities happening in their communities each week. Check out Macaroni Kid’s list of communities and sign up to receive your free weekly newsletter.